Jets: Bilal Powell not ruled down on 75-yard TD run
By Phil Watson
New York Jets running back Bilal Powell scored an unlikely touchdown Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a 75-yard run after it appeared he was down.
It was the sort of play video review was supposed to fix. New York Jets running back Bilal Powell was credited with a game-tying 75-yard touchdown run against the Jacksonville Jaguars after it appeared he was down.
Powell found a gap on the right side of the offensive line and tripped as he hit it, stumbling forward and sprawling for what appeared to be a routine gain.
But Powell popped up as the Jaguars defense froze and sprinted the rest of the way to the end zone.
The first surprise is, “Wow! The Jets scored a touchdown!”
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But the second is: “How is Powell not down by contact?”
The replay review appears to hinge on the call on the field, where there was no whistle, thus ruling Powell was not down by contact.
There isn’t conclusive evidence Powell tripped over the Jaguar defender who was in the hole when Powell made his jump. He may have been tripped by a blocker at the point of attack or he might have just tackled himself.
The reminder here for the Jacksonville defense is simply this: Play to the whistle. There was no whistle, so stopping when Powell splashed down on the turf was a bad idea.
For the record, it is the Jets’ longest touchdown run since Chris Ivory scored on a 71-yard run against the Oakland Raiders in Week 1 of the 2014 season, per pro-football-reference.com.
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It is also Gang Green’s second-longest rushing touchdown in franchise history, bested only by a 78-yard dash by Bruce Harper against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8 of the 1983 season. New York’s only other touchdown run of more than 70 yards was a 71-yarder by Thomas Jones in 2009.